7.Increasing Cold War tensions

Increasing Cold War tensions by 1953, why?

McCarthyism and Communist infiltration into US - the ‘Red Scare’.

US dominance in the UN and the resentment from Soviets as a result.

Communist Chinese Civil War victory in 1949.

Sino-Soviet Alliance 1950.

Outbreak of the Korean War.

and USSR testing its first atomic bomb in 1949 too.

The House of Un-American Activities Committee

The growing mood for anti-Communism was clear in the US by 1950, particularly with the committee centred around investigating Communist infiltration into the country. For example, in 1950 Alger Hiss was convicted of perjury (as he'd lied about passing on information to the USSR while working for the US State Department). This sparked criticism towards Truman's policies around dealing with Communism.

McCarthyism

The prime mover in whipping up anti-communist fears was Jospeh McCarthy, who's pressure on Truman's administration was designed to tighten the governments attitude toward the notion of a Communist global plot that threatened the USA.

He used the Alger Hiss affair to convince Americans that there was an army of Communists working with the US government.

McCarthy's accusations

Not only did McCarthy attack the UN as favouring left-wing, liberal causes.

He also claimed that the 'Reds' had infiltrated the US army.

And the State Department

And the film industry.

Truman has caused a ‘loss of China’ to communism and was too soft.

Therefore there was a global communist plot threatening the USA.

The Reducators

The head of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, was also part of this movement, and targeted teachers specifically (calling them 'Reducators', a reference to the nickname 'Reds' that described Communists). Apparently such people were undermining Americans traditions and customs, and questioning the American way of life by teaching young people.

The fall of McCarthy

A skilful legal defence by army counsel Joseph N Welch destroyed McCarthy - in a televised confrontation he said 'Senator... you have done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir?'.
In December 1954 the US Senate voted in favour of McCarthy being guilty of having brought them (the US Senate) to shame, which finally finished McCarthy and his supporters.

The influence of McCarthyism on Asia

McCarthy has significance when it came to foreign relations; he helped to promote a shift from Europe to Asia.

McCarthy wanted this 'Asia first' viewpoint as he felt the US had been successful enough with containment that they were secure enough from Communism, but Asia wasn't (China became Communist in 1949 and the Sino-Soviet alliance - ‘loss of China’). McCarthy was also fuelled by Truman's reluctance to support the Nationalists (Jiang Jieshi) against Communist China in the Chinese Civil War.

The influence of McCarthyism on Europe

By the 1950s Britain was becoming increasingly concerned about what it saw as the USA's aggressive Cold War thinking. They thought that the USSR might destabilise Europe while the international community was focused on Asia, so 'Asia-first' was jeopardising the stability that NATO had created.
However, Britain knew that they needed to still remain an ally to the US and this overrode their worries, and so they still made military contribution to the allied war effort in Korea.

Overall impact of McCarthyism

His claims lacked any evidence, which is why he was eventually discredited.

But he did have influence not only on policy (e.g. Asia first) but on opinion within the country too.

US dominance in the UN

Not only was the UN headquarters in New York, signifying US dominance in the organisation, but the composition of the members was majority Capitalist countries of USA's allies; for example, 20 members were from Capitalist Central and South America, those from the Middle East were pro-West like Iran, Iraq and Egypt. Greece was also included as well as other Western European and even India, Canada, Australia, and NZ.

Continuing US dominance in the UN

The USA insisted that mainland China, a Communist state from 1949, could not take China's UN seat too, but it was to remain occupied by the Nationalists in Taiwan.
One of the few USSR allies to join the UN was Poland in 1945, but the extremely unequal ratio in pro-Western favour ensured that the organisation operated in the USA's interests.

The UN Security Council

The decision-making arm in the UN was the Security Council, the permanent members consisting of USA, Britain, France, USSR and China. This was therefore still in the West's favour, and enhanced their power, however the major drawback was veto.
Veto meant that permanent members could vote against UN intervention (e.g. USSR and China could vote against the UN interfering if it would negatively affect them).
Therefore although the USA wanted to use the UN as a vehicle for intervention on a global scale and to create a global response to the threat of Communism, veto was too much of a drawback, and so instead they focused on using US-influence regional alliance systems.

US dominance in action

The dominant influence the USA had in the UN was apparent at the time the Korean War began - at the request of the USA (without input from the USSR) the Security Council met and called a ceasefire and the return of Northern forces to North Korea.
Truman then ordered US General Douglas MacArthur to provide US military support to South Korea, and also the 7th fleet were stationed off Taiwan - both of these also unilateral acts from the USA.
When the North didn't withdraw the USA continued, and and brokered a 2nd Security Council resolution calling for UN members to aid the South, claiming that international peace was being threatened.

Result of the Chinese Civil War

When Chinese Communists won the civil war against Chinese Nationalists, the USA did not guarantee to continue supporting the Nationalists. Truman and his advisors favoured avoiding military conflict with Communist China.
However, this was finally deflected when China and the USSR formed their alliance in early 1950, which inflated China's significance in the Far East.

Isolation of China

For the USA, the most alarming element of the alliance was the commitment to mutual security guarantees to combat aggression from Japan or any state that it collaborated with.

Communist political and military power was consolidated in China, after the civil war and the Sino-Soviet alliance. Reinforcing the USA's need to develop its own power base in that area of the world.

USA support for Japan, South Korea and Taiwan

The USA wanted to ensure Mao did not expand further, so Japan began to form a crucial part of the USA's strategy when it came to the Far East.

They also ensured support for South Korea and Jiang Jeshi’s nationalist China (confined to Taiwan).

So they maintained a strong military presence in Asia to protect their non-communist allies. China remained isolated from and hostile to the West until the 70s

Sino-Soviet relations

For Stalin, his alliance with China was to work in his favour, rather than open up wider international opportunities for the Chinese. China consolidated the USSR's security in the Far East and forced the USA to review their policies toward Asia.
Therefore the pressure of the Cold War in Europe was reduced.

The Korean War

The outbreak of the Korean War added further imperative to the USA's Far East policy, and when the San Francisco Peace Treaty was signed in September 1951 the USA's role in the Far East was confirmed - USA and Japans interests were tied just like China and the USSR's were.

The Korean War ended with the same status as it began for the North and South, but the degree of commitment from the US to prevent Communism spreading in Asia had shifted; China was to be isolated diplomatically through refused entry to the UN, US commitment to Taiwan, the Defensive Perimeter Strategy, creation of regional alliance systems like SEATO.